Thursday, 27 February 2014

There is a picture floating about indicating the scale of the new Knights Paladin compared to a Tau Riptide

As you can see it is a half inch taller than a Riptide, but a heck of a lot bulkier!There is also confirmation floating about that the Imperial Knights Freeblades can only ally with Imperial forces. Not sure what this means for allying with other forces of order.The Codex cover has also been leaked including the price list for week 1 in March. The Imperial Knights codex will set you back NZD$77 which is unusual as all books (besides the Space Marine Codex) have been NZD$98 so far. This leads me to believe it is far smaller, which makes sense since there is potentially only 2 different models in the book...

There is also a Ltd Edition to be released, no doubt at 4x the UK price...

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

The lists are all in and by now every team should have had a good go at reviewing potential matchups. The lists this year are definitely a step up from last, with 90% of the field bringing what can only be called a "competitive" list.

Of course there are the usual cry babies who a lambasting over such abstract terms as "copy & paste" and "netlist". Some have even called the tournament boring. Well here is a clue to all those haters out there. HTFU.

There is no peer/panel/subjective comp to be seen here (except the team called panel comp.. stupid Aussies can't let it go!) fixed it for yah =)

The breakdown this year is very interesting in that just about every team has arrived with a different team composition. Not only that, when you start reviewing the lists individually you start to see stark variation in the list designs. There is not 9 Throgg lists like some claim... However there is always one exception to the rule, this time being Empire. The other lists have a huge degree of variation to them and waves a good flag for the low/0 comp community (read real Warhammer).

Apparently, not to be undone by the Juggernaught factories of Khorne, The Empire has founded a new breeding ranch for Demigryphs, and the Nulu artillery school has been hard at work increasing the number of steam tanks and cannon in the realm. And as there is always an exception to the rule, there is also always an exception to the exception... the special snowflake this time is Alan from team Basiliers who seams to have submitted the same list as last year...

So on to the important stuff...

I'm taking a Krak at picking the top teams this year. In no particular order...

The Vonn Trapp Family

Current reining Warhammer champion of the >country< and current holders of the NZTC cup, only a fool would discount Pete and his offspring. They bring Warriors, Dark Elves, Daemons and Skaven to the party, which, IMO is close (ruined only by the rats!) to a perfect combo for team design. Can they hold on to the old mug or will the even make the podium? No doubt the team will have to carry Pete's Skaven as everyone knows they are so hard done by these days...

Wolfpack

The team with the dream. Can they dethrone the coven of evil? Arguably one of the strongest team designs including Warriors, Daemons, Empire but once again being let down by rats. If they had some good stout Dwarfs (snigger) or more seriously Dark Elves they would be a shoe in. Wolfpack has the potential to be the kingmaker, but it all depends on their day one performance.

Stonesfall Massive

Packing Warriors, Ogres, Daemons and Empire, this is another team that has a good mix of armies. The only thing holding them back will be if Joel chokes every round or not.

Panel Comp

Trying to embrace the spirit of Warhammer, I have included some of our unfortunate cousins from across the ditch, despite the name. Warriors, Skaven, Empire and Dark Elves make the combo. Having no Daemons will be a sore point however can the Aussies compete to the same level without all the handicaps they place on the game? They will either finish top 5 or bottom 5!

Team with the Guy.....

Dark Elves, High Elves, Daemons and Empire. Oh so close, except for that Guy. The guy is obviously the High Elves player, and the full name is obviously the "Team with the Guy that let down the rest of the team by taking High Elves to a serious Warhammer competition..." If they switched out High Elves for Woc, they would be the Dream Team!

DILF

The gay bandwagon team arrives in all is glory, no smack post would be complete without talking about DILF's. If they can stop day dreaming about having their very own sugar daddy, or checking out the opposition they may just have a chance. Although not the strongest combination of armies, they afford an interesting mix which is sure to give some teams a headache. just be careful of them offering you a drink as they may have slipped something into it... You have been warned

So that leaves my Team. Where will we come? Rocking Dark Elves, Lizardmen, Vampire Counts and Dwarfs its an obvious run for the wooden spoon here. Packing a Lizardman Bus, a new player that's never played in a tournament before, the slowest Warhammer player in the universe and an infantry DE list that I have never tested before, with a bit of luck and some ace matchups we will middle pack in about 7th (+ or - 6 places)

So who will be the Winner? Who wins out of Blackbreard vs Al Capone?

Parting shot: Best team composition IMO would have been Dark Elves, Daemons, Empire, and Warriors. Interesting nobody took it...

We have Forgeworld releasing amazing new artwork, and a T-shirt as below

I want one! Pity its an event only T-shirt

And in what is obviously a servo arm from a Mechanicum duder

Over at Games Workshop the new Imperial Knights Codex has been leaked which includes 3 armies within its hardcover, one of them being Knights of the Mechanicum (the others being Imperial & an allies list). Why on earth do they need a separate army list for Imperial & Mechanicum? Can they be that different or is there more depth than just Knights...

Could this be the rumoured Games Workshop integrating Forgeworld products into its website. Are they in fact not integrating websites but integrating product ranges? This would play well into what I have been told ie FW & GW sites are not merging. All will be revealed in about 1 week I expect, but we could be seeing Mechanicum forces coming to a tabletop next week in the form of Knights with Mechanicum contingents...

That can mean only one thing. It wont be long before Mechanicum gets sledged in as a fully functional army!

Over at Black Library we get this new hardcover Visions of Heresy Book. It looks to be the same book that was released late last year as a limited edition leather bound book, although this time it is just a hard cover. At the price of a codex and 416 pages this looks to be an excellent buy.

THE STORYFrom the ashes of the Great Crusade, treachery was born. Always first among the superhuman primarchs, the newly dubbed Warmaster Horus turned his back upon the Emperor and embraced the dark powers of Chaos. With fully half the military might of the fledgling Imperium at his command, he set his sights upon the throne of Holy Terra and waged a war which would divide the galaxy forever...ABOUT THE BOOKVisions of war, visions of darkness, of treachery and death – all of this and more is contained within this heretical volume. Iconic depictions of the Space Marine Legions and the heroes that commanded them are presented alongside artwork from renowned artist Neil Roberts, as well as brand new historical notes on the Warhammer 40,000 universe by Alan Merrett. Witness the end of an era and the beginning of something far darker, as the Heresy continues to unfold.A stunning hardback artefact book for fans of the Horus Heresy.This Edition will be released in stores on Saturday March 15th. All pre-order copies will commence shipping in the week commencing March 10th.

Games Workshop also releases the Sentinals of Terra Hardcover after a long absence of releases

Sentinels of Terra: A Codex SupplementFor the defenders of Terra, the Great Crusade never ended. They fight to reclaim what has been lost and will not rest until the worlds of Mankind are united once more.

This supplement to Codex: Space Marines allows you to build the unstoppable army of the Sentinels of Terra; the Imperial Fists 3rd Company. Within the 72 pages of this hardback, full colour book you will find:- The History of the Sentinels of Terra, and their struggles to reclaim honours and glories under the command of Captain Darnath Lysander.- A showcase of Space Marine miniatures featuring the colour scheme and iconography of the Sentinels of Terra.- New missions: both to recreate famous battles and to reflect the Sentinels of Terra’s favoured tactics.- Unique relics, Warlord Traits and new stratagems – Perfect for games of Planetstrike and Cities of Death.

They also have a limited edition version available. Think I'll pass on this...

Further information can be found here and here for the limited edition

Forgeworld have released the new Anvillus Droppod. Striking similarities to the Dreadclaw!

The Dreadclaw is a unique variant of the standard Legiones Astartes Drop Pod that allows for greater mobility for the forces transported as it is able to take off again after landing.This is a complete resin and plastic kit, Games Workshop Drop Pod shown in some images sold separately. This set is available to pre-order now and will be despatched from the 28th of February.Model designed by Phil Stutcinskas.

View from beneath is highly detailed, as we have come to expect from Forgeworld

The size comparrison shows us it is based of the standard droppod pattern.

And last but not least, is pre orders are up for the new Legion of the Damned Codex.

Appearing from the shifting tides of the Warp, the Legion of the Damned are mysterious bone-adorned Space Marines who arrive unlooked for to aid the servants of the Imperium. No one knows for sure where they come from, but none can doubt the fury with which they fight, or the trail of dead foes they leave in their wake. Tormented by a ghostly past and afflicted by the very power that snatches them from one battlefield to the next, the Legion are truly cursed warriors who, perhaps, seek salvation through the carnage they visit upon the enemies of the Emperor.About the Book:Codex: Legion of the Damned allows you to add Legion of the Damned squads into your Warhammer 40,000 army, or field them as a detachment in their own right. It includes extensive background on the mysterious Legion of the Damned, detailing the times they have appeared to fight alongside the armies of the God-Emperor. Also inside you will find rules for Legion of the Damned units, as well as three new missions, an artefact and Warlord Traits and, all unique to these legendary warriors.AN INTERACTIVE IPAD EDITION OF THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE FROM THE IBOOKSTORE FOR IPAD AND IPAD MINIMarch 2014 •eBook available in Mobi and ePub Format. Compatible with Android, Kindle and iBooks devices. Exact layout, page count and formatting will vary based on the eReader used.

One last parting shot. Looks like Black Library is about to announce something... They have a place holder page up reffered to as "our ranges" with very few details on it. Will have to wait until Monday to find out more...